Paterson fills city court vacancies

PATERSON - The appointments of three new municipal judges gained approval this week after a delay of almost one month.

The City Council on Tuesday voted to approve the mayor's appointments of Abdelmajeid "John" Abdelhadi, Cecilia Sardina Guzman and Giuseppe Randazzo to part-time judge positions, which come with a salary range of $45,000 to $78,000.

Mayor Jose "Joey" Torres said those judges will fill vacancies that have created a backlog of cases in the city court. The council also re-appointing two hold-over judges - Gerald Sean Keegan and Joaquin Calcines Jr. The city's sixth judge, J. Keving McDuffie, serves as presiding judge.

Abdelhadi has worked on the city legal department's staff since 2008 and is Haledon's municipal prosecutor. Guzman has a private practice and worked in the Morris County Prosecutor's Office more than a decade ago. Randazzo works as a attorney for several towns in North Jersey.

Torres wanted to appoint the judges last month, but the council opted to do some vetting before signing off on the mayor's choices.